So much potential undelivered unfortunately. The building is stunning & the rooms internally were lovely, but parts externally are in state of disrepair & buildings round the back look like they’re falling apart.
Our first impression wasn’t amazing, we’ve come to expect a warm welcome of Scotland, but the greeting we received was functional, very polite & well mannered, but not warm or welcoming. We also weren’t given an Islay House guide which meant we had to guess what the amenities were such as WiFi access. We spotted a stack of these in reception as we checked out, bit of a shame. We were also hoping to learn a bit about the island, features, must visit places etc but unfortunately the chap wasn’t able to help & seemed to lack the knowledge.
We’d booked a suite which was stunning but one window wouldn’t open as it’s been painted shut and the TV didn’t work - only showing BBC1 on the first day, nothing at all on the second day. On inspection the aerial cable was frayed.
Breakfast was mixed. The full Scottish breakfast & smoked salmon/scrambled egg/crumpet was good on day one. Day two wasn’t so good - the porridge was pretty cold & the croissant clearly had been warmed in the microwave too much and was hard. Also an improvement would be teapots & cafetières for coffee and tea instead of the nespresso machine which doesn't pour water hot enough for tea and some other guests struggled with.
Overall a lovely building, loads of potential but didn’t quite deliver.